Summer Wood Duck

Friends, this is a male wood duck in his drab summer coat, far different than his beautiful spring duds. But the red eye and whiet chin strap remain so we know this is a male in disguise. He will molt again in August into his winter finery and retain that plumage through next spring. I like his head reflection in the water and he is motoring away from me as fast as he is able. Below is an image of a spring wood duck pair in their finery. til Tomorrow MJ

Your male wood ducks seem to wear a larger hat than ours down here. Same colors, but ours top hat don’t protrude as much. Jack and I watched a pair when we lived on N. Padre Island. The area had several bird watching places. One area had woods and a pair of woodies lived there. We went birding several times a week. Mikki